By Ireti Asemota.
Yola, Adamawa – In a major blow to cross-border syndicates, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized a whopping 108,775 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, that was en route to Cameroon via the River Benue. Officials hailed the operation as one of the biggest fuel smuggling busts in Adamawa State in recent times.
The intelligence-led raid unfolded in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, November 6, 2025, spearheaded by ACG Kolapo Oladeji, National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind. A specialized NCS tactical unit had staked out a covert position near the notorious Ribadu Loading Bay, a hotspot for illicit fuel trafficking across the border.
As smugglers started loading the contraband onto wooden boats, the team swooped in, barking orders to freeze. “The challenging terrain and low visibility forced us to zero in on grabbing the goods and blocking the vessels’ escape into international waters,” Oladeji recounted in an official statement shared on X over the weekend.
With backup from the North-Eastern Marine Command, officers scoured the area and uncovered a second boat brimming with petrol-packed drums and jerrycans. Both crafts were towed to the Jimeta waterside in Yola, where the haul was offloaded into trucks and whisked away to a secure NCS warehouse for processing.
A thorough inventory turned up 485 drums—each holding 220 litres—plus 83 jerrycans of 25 litres apiece, clocking in at the eye-watering total of 108,775 litres. Due to the fuel’s flammable risks, Oladeji urged headquarters to fast-track a public auction under standard protocols.
“This raid spotlights our ironclad dedication to stamping out smuggling, defending Nigeria’s economy, and upholding rules on petroleum transport,” Oladeji affirmed. He spotlighted how rampant fuel bootlegging via northern and eastern rivers poses a dire risk to the country’s energy stability, with thieves hauling off huge volumes to cash in on price gaps in neighboring nations.
The bust aligns with Operation Whirlwind’s aggressive push against economic sabotage, building on earlier successes like January’s auction of seized PMS worth N199 million from the Adamawa/Taraba corridor. Just last month, NCS commands in Adamawa and Taraba also nabbed a mix of petroleum, donkey hides, Tramadol tablets, and imported soaps valued at over N112.5 million—another win in the ongoing war on illicit trade.
As Nigeria grapples with subsidized fuel prices that tempt smugglers (PMS sells for about N702 per litre locally but fetches up to N2,062 in Cameroon), these operations underscore the NCS’s multi-pronged strategy: blending intel sharing, tech surveillance, and inter-agency teamwork to choke off the black market.
Smugglers, take note: The waterways are no longer a free ride.
